Amundi Lowers Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Amundi reduced its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 881,002 shares of the company’s stock after selling 127,564 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned 0.44% of Hershey worth $143,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Woodstock Corp raised its position in shares of Hershey by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $1,939,000. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $186.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $161.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.33. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bernstein Bank cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.